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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: None indicated| Rating: 9

Pros:

Sharpness, IQ

Cons:

Purple fringing wide open

I tested it thoroughly before buying... well, a Zeiss 135/2 and a 105/2.5 AIS.

This lens seems to have no weakness, except some CA and purple fringing wide open. Here the Zeiss is vastly superior, especially in handling bright light sources. And of course it is sharper.

Apart from that, IQ and sharpness were convincing, at least from f/2.8. The defocus control actually works and is a delight for 'slow' and/or technically interested photographers (if you like tilt & shift, you know what I mean). If money were not limited, I'd definitely buy one.

AF (screwdriver-powered) is slow but accurate, so I do not care.

ioshertz

Registered: January 2015Posts: 2

Nikon 105mm f/2D AF DC Nikkor review by ioshertz

Review Date: 1/18/2015

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: $900.00| Rating: 10

Pros:

Cons:

definitely my favourite lens!
very sharp, the blur is great, the image that is creating is very, very good!

This lens is better than I expected. Image quality, build quality ...all of it. For portraits, or telephoto in general, I feel it's among the best lenses in existence from Nikon.

Only a couple of minor issues. Focal lenght is a little long on DX. Not that convenient in tight spaces obviously. Also, a number of people require using AF fine tune with this lens for higher res DSLR models now (including the D7000). Seems like a number of people have to set it at a range of +10-20 (mine is +10).

Once it's set, there's no real worries about autofocus accuracy.

This lens is rare and maybe a specialty lens, but it's solid. It's a keeper, highly recommended.

colinjames

Registered: November 2010Posts: 8

Nikon 105mm f/2D AF DC Nikkor review by colinjames

Review Date: 8/7/2011

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: $775.00| Rating: 10

Superb IQ - FAST, Nice size, contrasty, built in hood a huge plus. I have owned several of Nikon's fastest lenses (85 1.4, all the 50mm's, 80-200, etc) This lens is special. You could do a photoshoot in a landfill and not take a bad picture. 105mm on full frame gives you more freedom than 135mm by far, and has better repro ratio and sharper wide open than 85mm as well. 1.4 is a hot mess for headshots - you always have an eye out of focus - heaven forbid you get the tip of the nose in focus oh jebus. Blows away 105mm VR.

maskinmoller

Registered: March 2011Posts: 6

Nikon 105mm f/2D AF DC Nikkor review by maskinmoller

Review Date: 3/16/2011

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: None indicated| Rating: 10

Pros:

Sharpness, contrast, bokeh, build quality,

Cons:

none

This lens LOVES people and people loves, what this lens does to them.

andre_

Registered: December 2008Posts: 31

Nikon 105mm f/2D AF DC Nikkor review by andre_

Review Date: 12/8/2008

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: $900.00| Rating: 10

Pros:

bokeh, definition, shadows and highlights rendition, no CA....

Cons:

none

This lens is simply perfect.
It's the well definited lens at f2 I've ever seen.
I've actually never use the DC, and never over f5.6.

italy74

Registered: April 2007Posts: 8

Nikon 105mm f/2D AF DC Nikkor review by italy74

Review Date: 4/23/2007

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: $1,588.00| Rating: 10

Pros:

Great sharpness, bokeh and versatility

Cons:

None

Surely the sharpest lens I have, it's able of a very fine detail even if it's not a macro lens. I'm enjoying also the DC feature for some kind of flou effect both on digital and film SLR. Definitely a must!

Iyhel

Registered: March 2007Posts: 6

Nikon 105mm f/2D AF DC Nikkor review by Iyhel

Review Date: 3/13/2007

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: $900.00| Rating: 9

Pros:

Sharpness at any aperture, bokeh

Cons:

A little heavy ?

Pin sharp all over its aperture range, especially from f/2 to f/5.6.

The "natural" bokeh is great and Defocus Control is just a little more fun.

Built solid and resilient. Manual focus ring is perfectly smooth.

It's heavy for a prime, but not so much, especially considering the f/2 aperture.

It doesn't get 10/10 just because there is a recurrent frontfocus problem in some series (mine... easily fixed by Nikon under warranty however) and at this price point, it's a pity that they don't control it and fix it at manufacture. So just don't get it second hand if you cannot test it and get any problem fixed under warranty.

Probably my favourite lens along with the 180/2.8. Since I have it, I have been considering changing my DSLR (currently D50) to get a better viewer as it is sometimes hard to use manually with such a shallow depth of field !